Recipe: Orange Cake with Orange butter Icing (1937)

ORANGE CAKE

1/2 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tbsp orange rind
1/4 cup orange juice and pulp
2 1/4 cups sifted flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
5/8 cup sour milk or buttermilk
1/3 cup chopped raisins or currants
1/3 cup chopped nutmeats
Orange Butter Icing (recipe follows)

Cream butter until it is soft and creamy. Gradually add sugar and beat until mixture is light and fluffy.

Beat eggs with rotary beater until foamy and add gradually to fat-sugar mixture, beating thoroughly. Add grated orange rind and juice and beat until well blended.

Mix flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda and sift 4 or 5 times. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk, making 3 or 4 additions, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Stir gently and quickly until batter is well blended, but do not over mix. Fold in fruit and nuts and spread carefully into well greased 8 or 9 inch square cake pan.

Bake in moderate oven (350 degrees F) for 40-50 minutes. Allow baked cake to "set" for 15-20 minutes before removing from pan. Cool and serve plain or spread with Orange Butter Icing or any desired icing.

ORANGE BUTTER ICING

1/3 cup butter
2 tbsp orange juice
1 to 1 1/2 cups icing (confectioner's) sugar
1 or 2 tsp grated orange rind

Cream butter thoroughly. Add the liquid and beat well. Gradually blend in sugar until icing is of the right consistency to spread. Add orange juice and grated orange rind and spread on cake.

Source: Purity Cookbook (1937)